My Strange Novice Girl
by katxheart
Summary: This is the Vampire Academy series from Dimitir's POV. I'll be doing it one book at a time. Let me know what you guys think! This is my first time publishing a fanfiction, so I'm a little nervous.
1. Prologue

Prologue 

When I had been called to St. Vladimir's Academy, I had assumed I was being assigned to a position within the school. I hadn't realized I was being sent on a retrieval

mission. That wasn't what shocked me the most though. It was what – or rather, who – I was being sent to retrieve. 

She is to be brought back at all costs. Her… friend… is not as important," Ellen Kirova had said. She was the headmistress at the Academy, and older Moroi, tall and slim

as most Moroi were, with graying hair and a shrewd piercing gaze. 

Do we have any idea where they are?" I asked. If I was being sent to drag two runaway teenagers back to school, I wanted an idea of where to begin. 

"No, but they can't have gotten far," she said. 

And that was how, two years and three states later, I found myself standing out on a college dorm's lawn at three in the morning in the middle of Portland, Oregon

watching Princess Vasilisa Dragomir and her novice dhampir friend Rosemarie Hathaway conversing in their room. Then, as though she could sense me, Rosemarie

appeared at the window and, after a quick survey, her eyes found me. 

Slowly and silently, I slid further back, thoroughly obscuring myself in the shadows of the trees behind me. Within seconds, she had vanished from sight, no doubt

informing the princess that their cover was blown and it was time to leave. I and the other guardians that had been sent along formulated a plan, and when the two

girls emerged, we wasted no time springing into action. 

"I know she dropped out, but this the sloppiest running I've ever seen from a novice," I thought as I easily surpassed her, lightly running through the shadows of the

trees. Their goal was a green Honda Accord, about fifteen feet in front of them. I stopped ten feet from it and stepped into their path. Around them, the other six

guardians who were with me closed in, forming a loose circle around the two girls. 

Rosemarie, apparently deeming me the greatest threat, stepped in front of Vasilisa in a standard guardian stance, completely shielding her from me. 

"Leave her alone!" she growled, attempting to sound intimidating. It might have worked, had I not seen her weakened state, or were I not a fully trained guardian

who could easily take this girl even without extra guardians. Still, I had to approach this cautiously because I'd been told how reckless and unpredictable she could be.

I held up my hands to show I meant them no harm. 

"I'm not going to-"I began, stepping forward. Suddenly she lunged forward in a defensive attack and I reacted on instinct, blocking them move and knocking her back. I

hadn't struck hard, and was therefore surprised when she fell backwards, headed to the ground at an angle that would surely hurt a lot. I reached out and grabbed

her arm to steady her before she could touch the ground. I looked up, intending to ask if she was alright when my eyes fell on her neck. Her hair had fallen away,

revealing the unmistakable signs of a fresh vampire bite. Suddenly, her sloppiness and incoordination made sense. The loss of blood and lingering endorphins would

certainly have affected her greatly; however, I was still surprised that she'd been able to run or fight at all. She clearly had a lot of raw potential, and if fully trained

and at the top of her game, I had no doubt she'd be a lethal guardian. 

Rosemarie noticed where my gaze lingered and hastily covered her neck with her hair. I lifted my eyes to meet her glare as she jerked out of my hold, pressing against

Vasilisa in another defensive posture. I felt like sighing, but found myself marveling at the lengths to which she would go to defend the princess. Yes, a very lethal

guardian. 

Then, as suddenly as she braced for attack, I saw her relax a bit, clearly conceding. I took advantage of this to switch my attention fully on Vasilisa. 

"My name is Dimitri Belikov," I said, giving a polite bow. "I've come to take you back to St Vladimir's Academy, Princess."


	2. Chapter 1

**In answer to a question asked (since I'm not sure how to answer reviews, or if it's even possible). I will be trying to keep to the book as much as possible, but I'm also going to fill in areas where we don't see Dimitri, as well as giving his point of view in the scenes he's in. This chapter is still sticking to the book, but starting next chapter, I am going to branch more into Dimitri off screen. Hope I do him justice =)**

Chapter 1

It didn't take me long to figure out that letting the two of them sit together would be a mistake. Once on the plane, I called one of the guardians over to separate them.

"Don't let them talk to each other," I ordered as he escorted Rosemarie down towards the back of the land. "Five minutes together and they'll come up with an escape plan."

She gave me a look that told me she was indeed planning escape and that she was unhappy being separated. I took the now vacated seat next to Vasilisa, but still kept an eye on the other one. Every so often, she would glance towards Vasilisa with a look of… concern? Once, I swear I saw her go completely blank-faced, staring towards us for a few seconds before seemingly shaking herself awake.

"But that's not possible," I thought," Those only exist in legend." But the more I watched the two of them together, the more obvious it became to me. I also had a feeling no one else knew or surely they would have told me in the debriefing?

About three-quarters of the way through the flight, curiosity got the best of me. This girl was a mystery, one I had a strange desire to solve. I got up and walked towards the back.

"I'll take over here, Leon. Go sit with the princess," I said to the guardian next to Rosemarie. He nodded and, without a word, walked to the front and sat down in my vacated seat. I looked at Rosemarie as I sat next to her. She promptly turned away, looking out the window. At first, I said nothing, unsure how to phrase my question. Finally, I spoke up.

"Were you really going to attack all of us?" I asked her. I got no response.

"Doing that… protecting her like that-it was very brave," I said. "Stupid, but brave. Why did you do that?" She turned to look at me and I was surprised by the steely glint in her eyes as she spoke.

"Because I'm her guardian."

That was all I got and I realized the conversation would go no further. Unraveling her secrets would a fun task. Not that I was seriously entertaining the idea of doing so. She reminded me a lot of myself. I walked back to the front, my thoughts on the mysterious novice girl who had risked everything trying to keep her friend safe.

About 45 minutes later, we finally landed at the Academy. The quickest route to the headmistress's office was directly through the center of the commons where the cafeteria was, so that's where we headed. I took point, leading the group from the runway towards the school. Just as we reached the secondary campus, I sensed Rosemarie joining up with me.

"Hey Comrade," she said. An old reference to Russia's Soviet days. I suppose I should have seen that coming. I kept my eyes on my surroundings as I answered her.

"You want to talk now?"

"Are you taking us to Kirova?" she asked, all business. I almost smiled as I corrected her gently.

" _Headmistress_ Kirova."

"Headmistress. Whatever. She's still-"she stopped as she caught sight of where we were going. I heard her groan beside me as the other students – Moroi and dhampir alike- caught sight of us and stopped talking. It didn't take very long to cross the area and reach the office. Once we had entered and the girls sat, I gave a nod indicating the other guardians could leave us. Alberta, captain of the Academy's guardians, and I silently took up posts at opposite walls, thoroughly covering the room.

"Vasilisa," spoke up a voice from the left of the girls. By their reaction, I could tell they hadn't even realized Prince Victor Dashkov was in the room. Vasilisa's face lit up when she noticed who had spoken and eagerly greeted him with a hug. He conveyed his relief at seeing the two of them returned safely, and after a few moments of reunion, Kirova cleared her throat and drew everyone's attention back to her.

As a guardian, I was good at keeping my thoughts and feelings off my face, but on the inside, I was squirming from the verbal beating Kirova was giving the both of them. I had to admire the way they jumped to each other's defense, though.

"Rose didn't kidnap me, I wanted to go," Vasilisa said calmly, the picture of royalty. Kirova didn't find this as an acceptable scenario.

"If she'd done her duty, she would have informed someone. She would have kept you safe," she said. Before anyone could say anything else, Rose finally spoke up.

"I _did_ do my duty!" she shouted, jumping up. Alberta and I twitched, not expecting the outburst. However, given that she wasn't posing a threat yet, we stayed where we were; we still braced ourselves for the possibility, though. Prepare for anything.

"I took her away to protect her! You certainly weren't going to," she finished. I had to admire her gall. She was foolish and brash, yes, but incredibly brave.

"Miss Hathaway, forgive me if I fail to see the logic of taking her out of a heavily guarded, magically secured environment as protecting her. Unless there's something you aren't telling us?" This was met with silence, though the look on Rose's face said there was plenty she wasn't saying. I became curious all over again about the secrets hiding in her mind. Her cockiness ceased with Kirova's next words

"The princess must stay here for her own protection, but we have no such obligations to you. You will be sent away as soon as possible."

Vasilisa immediately stood and came to Rose's defense again, but Kirova was hearing none of it. I decided it was time to step in. It was becoming increasingly clearer that no one aside from myself was aware of their secret, and if Rose wanted them to keep her here, they'd have to be told.

"They have a bond," I said. All eyes turned towards me. "Rose knows what Vasilisa is feeling. Don't you?"

Kirova's reaction confirmed that I was right, no one knew.

"But that's impossible. That hasn't happened in centuries."

"It's obvious," I stated. How had no one seen this before? "I suspected as soon as I started watching them. The best guardians always had that bond, in the stories."

Everyone seemed startled. Victor marveled at what a wonderful gift they had. Kirova, however, still seemed bent on ousting Rose.

"Surely you aren't suggesting we keep her here, after everything she's done?" I shrugged nonchalantly. What everyone else saw as reckless teenage rebellion, I saw as incredible potential.

"She might be wild and disrespectful, but if she has potential-"

"Wild and disrespectful? Who the hell are you anyway? Outsourced help?" Rose interrupted. I wasn't sure whether to feel offended or amused. I chose the latter but said nothing.

"Guardian Belikov is the princess's guardian now," Kirova said," her _sanctioned_ guardian."

"You got cheap foreign labor to protect Lissa?"

This girl had no filter, it seemed. She did seem as though she at least regretted saying it. Still, she would need to learn when to stop talking or there'd be no way to save her education.

"You see? Completely undisciplined," Kirova exclaimed. "A guardian without discipline is worse than no guardian at all."

"So teach her discipline. Classes just started, put her back in and get her training again."

"Impossible. She'll still be hopelessly behind her peers."

"No I won't!" Rose piped up.

"Then give her extra training sessions," I suggested.

"Who's going to put in the extra time? You?" Kirova demanded. That stopped me. I hadn't considered that; I was simply fighting for her to stay in school.

"Well, that's not what I-"

"That's what I thought," Kirova added, a self-satisfied expression on her face. Черт. Unsure what to say or do, I frowned and glanced at Rose and Vasilisa. On the one hand, we couldn't afford to lose any guardians who wanted to train, especially ones with so much promise. On the other hand, I had not prepared to take on such a monumental project when I had come here. Still...

"Yes," I said," I can mentor Rose. I'll give her extra sessions along with her normal ones."

"And then what? She goes unpunished?" I was surprised at Kirova's obstinacy. Surely she couldn't harbor a dislike this strong for one girl?

"Find some other way to punish her. Guardian numbers have gone down too much to risk losing another. A girl in particular." To my surprise, Victor stood and agreed with me.

"Sending Rose away would be a shame, a waste of talent," he said. Kirova glanced out the window then back to Rose and Vasilisa.

"Please, Ms. Kirova. Let Rose stay."

After a few more moments of deliberation, Kirova finally conceded. Under the conditions that Rose attend all classes, including training with me. Both before and after school. What had I agreed to? She was also told no social interaction outside of that. Rose started to complain. I caught her gaze and tried to tell her without words to hold her tongue for once. I don't know if it made a difference, but she finally said," Fine. I accept."


	3. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much for the kind words and warm welcome into the fanfiction world! I'm super excited with the response I'm getting for this and I'm feeling good about getting the rest of it written and posted. I won't always be able to update this quickly, but I will always get a new chapter posted as soon as I can. Again, thank you and I hope my chapters continue to be as good =)**

Chapter 2

Following the meeting, Vasilisa was led away to get her class schedule. Alberta and I were instructed to accompany Rose first to the guardian counselor for her own schedule then to her first period class. Once we had arrived at the gym, she joined the other senior novices and we began walking around the gym to keep an eye on training.

I passsed their group and heard a novice say "It's always a good time to think about you naked, Hathaway." I shook my head and once again wondered what I had volunteered for.

"Dimitri, I haven't had a chance to properly welcome you to the team," Alberta said, taking my attention away from the thought of Rose naked. Why was that an image that got stuck in my head?

"Thank you. I look forward to adding my skills to your force," I answered humbly. I was more than happy for a quiet and uneventful assignment after my last one. Well, as uneventful as a high school could be. Still, after losing my last charge, a relatively safe position here was very welcome.

"As do I," she stated with a smile. The smile slowly faded as she asked her next question though.

"Forgive me if you'd rather not speak of it, but were you close with Ivan Zeklos?" she asked. I knew it would come up eventually and had braced myself for it.

"We were friends in school. I'd known him since we were 17. When -"I stopped. I hadn't been on duty when Ivan had been killed, but I blamed myself everyday for it. Alberta understood and said no more. We switched our attention back to the novices, my gaze focusing on Rose more than was strictly necessary.

I followed Rose along to her next class, Bodyguard Theory with Guardian Stan Alto. I silently took up a position in the corner of the room to watch the class.

"What's this? No one told me we had a guest speaker today," Stan said when his eyes eventually caught sight of Rose. "Come up to the front of the class so you can help me lecture."

Rose's face turned pink. I almost felt bad for her. "You don't really mean-"

"I mean exactly what I say, Hathaway. To the front."

In an act of what I was quickly classifying as standard Rose bravado, she stood up straight, strode to the front, and flipped her hair over her shoulders. Her gaze faltered a little bit when she realized there were guardians in the back, too, but she rolled her shoulders back and put on a determined look once more.

"So, Hathaway, enlighten us about your protective techniques," Stan said, moving to the front to stand beside her.

"My... techniques?"

Stan spent the next several minutes unfairly verbally berating Rose, throwing things at her she hadn't been there to learn. True, it was her own doing, and he was proving his point. But I suspected he was doing this partially for the enjoyment of her discomfort. When she couldn't answer a question, he mocked her.

"As Moroi disappear -"

"-so do the dhampirs," Rose said softly. She had lost a bit of her steam and bravado as the verbal tirade continued. Stan seemed to sense a victory of sorts because he finally let her sit, with a last comment about her possibly not learning enough to graduate. The remainder of class passed uneventfully, Rose slouched in her seat, her eyes burning a hole in her notebook. At the end of class, another novice training class in the gym followed. It was enlightening following her to these classes. Watching her allowed me an oppurtunity to see her weak areas without wasting training time talking it out. I formed several lesson plans in my head, keeping both her performance in classes and the state I'd found her in in Portland in mind.

When lunch came around, I had enough things to teach Rose that I could've planned lessons for the whole year and not been done. I hoped she was as quick a study as she kept saying she was. I had a couple of questions, though, and rather than wait, I seized the oppurtunity to talk to her before she reached her friends.

"I suppose you saw what happened in Stan's class?" she asked.

"Yes," I answered. I decided it'd be better not to point out her title drop.

"And you don't think that was unfair?" Irrelevant, I thought.

"Was he right? Do you think you were fully prepared to protect Vasilisa?"

"I kept her alive," she mumbled, looking at the ground. I felt for her, but in our world that meant little if you couldn't protect your Moroi from the big threats. Like Strigoi.

"How did you do fighting against your classmates today?" It was a question that didn't need an answer, and Rose knew it. "If you can't fight them-"

"Yeah, I know," she snapped. I took in her overall appearance. She did a decent job of hiding behind attitude, but I could see how badly she wanted to be worthy of a position as Vasilisa's guardian.

"You're strong and fast by nature. You just need to keep yourself trained. Didn't you play any sports while you were gone?"

"Sure, now and then," she said with a shrug.

"You didn't join any teams?" I asked.

"Too much work. If I'd wanted to practice that much, I'd have stayed here."

It was meant jokingly, but I was aghast. Rose had a lot of learning to do and not all of it was teachable. I gave her an exhasperated look.

"You'll never be able to protect the princess if you don't hone your skills,"I said, touching that sensitive spot she harbored for her friend.

"I'll be able to protect her," she said fiercely. I could tell she badly wanted to, but if she was going to get there, I had to be tough on her.

"You have no guarantees of being assigned to her, you know. No one wants to waste the bond, but they won't give her an inadequate guardian either. If you want her, work for it. You have your lessons. You have me. Use us or don't. You're an ideal choice to protect Vasilisa when you both graduate, if you prove you're worthy. I hope you will."

"Lissa. Call her Lissa."

I didn't answer that. I wasn't used to dropping a royal's title, let alone using a nickname. I would bring that up to Vasilisa myself.

Another reason I didn't answer is because I suddenly found my thoughts straying to us. I coulsdn't quite pin what it was, but something about Rose captivated me. She was beautiful, yes, with her long dark hair and dark eyes, but there was something else. Her feirceness was incredible to me, and I knew, somehow, that she'd throw everything she had into our extra training sessions.

"Belikov!" I turned to see Celeste, one of the school's guardians, catching up to me.

"Celeste! How are you?" I greeted when she caught pace with me.

"Good, good. How's everything with you?" she asked. I could tell she was curious how I was handling the death of Lord Zeklos.

"It's good. It's getting better. Where are you headed to?"

"A few of the guardians are having lunch together. You should join us, Dimitri. Get to know the team," she said, a smile on her face.

"Oh, um.. thanks," I answered. I didn't usually attend many social gatherings unless I was guarding someone at one, but I had no real reason to turn her down. I followed her along to the guardians lounge, where Alberta, Stan, and three other guardians I didn't yet know were already sitting around, laughing and talking. I took a seat next to Alberta and across from Stan.

"Ah, Belikov! Didn't expect to see you here," one of the guardians I didn't know said.

"Yea, I dragged him here, kicking and screaming," Celeste said.

"Oh, no, I-"

"It's a joke, Dimitri, relax," she laughed. I gave a small chuckle in response. I may have gained a strong reputation in the guardian world, but I was still pretty young compared to most, plus I was never particularly comfortable being the center of attention.

"So I hear you're giving that Hathaway girl extra training?" Stan said.

"Yes," I answered.

"Well, good luck with that," he said gruffly. "You'll definitely have your hands full with that one."

"Rose is... well, was a fantastic student before she left. She was ahead of her peers in all her novice classes. I'm sure it won't take long for her to catch up with them. Especially with Dimitri's help," Alberta said. I certainly hoped so. I suddenly found myself worried she'd do something to get herself kicked out.


	4. Chapter 3

**I won't always be able to update this fast as I'm in the middle of moving. But I wrote this quickly and wanted to post them as fast. Thank you so much for the kind reviews =)**

Chapter 3

I spent part of the rest of the day watching classes, but I was able to slip away during the last one and get some time alone before the end of the day brought my first training session with Rose. I had brought along my current favorite Western novel, Butcher's Crossing, to read, but I made it through half a chapter before I found my attention wandering. Wandering to Rose and Stan's comment at lunch.

It wouldn't be that bad… I hoped. Rose was brash, rude, unfiltered, hopelessly behind… but she was also passionate, strong-willed, and fiercely protective of Vasilisa. One only needed to spend five minutes around them to see that. Maybe I was giving her too much credit…

"No," I thought. There was something about Rose Hathaway that was intriguing. Whatever it took, I would not only get Rose caught up in training, but I would make her the best novice here. But was I doing it for her or for me?

I glanced up at the clock and saw that it was time to meet up for Rose's first practice session. I slipped my book back into my duster pocket and headed towards the gym. When I got there, however, I found it empty. With a sigh, I went off to search for her. I headed in the direction of the Slavic Art room that was her last class of the day, thinking I might at least run into her on the way. Rounding a corner, I found her and Vasilisa deep in conversation. I gave another sigh and approached them.

"- we leave. No arguments," Rose stated.

"Rose?"

They glanced up at me, clearly unaware I had arrived.

"You're late for practice," I said. To Vasilisa, I gave a nod and a polite greeting of "Princess."

Rose surprisingly didn't say anything as we began walking back towards the novice training area. I considered letting the silence continue, but I decided to fill it by informing Rose of what I had in mind for her today.

"So I was watching your performance in classes today, and I've come up with a training schedule that I believe will help you catch up quickly," I said. "I would like to start you with some basic muscle building, and some running to build your endurance and cardio muscles."

When she didn't respond, I turned towards her, just in time to see her stop walking, face blank. I stopped as well.

"Rose?" Still nothing. I reached out and placed my hands on her shoulders and bent to look her in the eyes.

"Rose?" I said again softly, shaking her. She finally blinked and focused on her surroundings. We had stopped in the middle of the quad between the upper school buildings.

"Are you alright?" I asked. She certainly didn't look alright.

"I… yea. I was… with Lissa. In her head," she answered, putting her hand on her forehead which did nothing to ease my concern.

"Her… head?"

"Yea, it's part of the bond," she explained.

"Is she alright?" I asked. I wasn't entirely sure how the bond worked.

"Yea, she's…," she began, but hesitated. She looked confused, then irritated, then resigned. It was interesting watching the emotions play across her face. "She's not in danger."

Something told me there was more she wasn't saying, but she didn't seem to want to divulge so I didn't pursue the issue.

"Can you keep going?" I asked, trying to keep the concern out of my voice. I'm not sure what my face portrayed, but hers looked a little confused again as she studied it.

"Yea, I'm fine," she finally said.

"Okay," I said. Once again, I felt there was more she wasn't saying.

When we arrived in the gym, Rose made her way to a changing room to dress out while I decided what I wanted her to start on today.

"Ugh, maybe you should let me off today. Pick up in the morning," Rose said as she came up behind me, rubbing her shoulder. Figuring she was making a joke, I laughed.

"Why is that funny?" she asked. Oh, it wasn't a joke.

"Oh, you were serious?

"Of course I was!" she cried exasperatedly. "Look, I've technically been awake for two days. Why do we have to start now? Let me go to bed."

I crossed my arms and looked at her. It was a gesture meant to hide my amusement because for some reason, I found this slightly adorable. But I needed to be tough on her, so I slid my guardian mask on.

"How do you feel right now? After the training you've done so far?"

"I hurt like hell," she answered in a 'duh' kind of way.

"You'll feel worse tomorrow," I stated.

"So?"

"So better to jump in now while you still feel… not as bad."

"What kind of logic is that?!" she retorted, her eyes widening in disbelief. Again, I fought to keep my smile off my face as I led her over to the weight room.

"Ok, I want you to start with 20 reps each on these 10 pound dumbbells, followed by 15 reps each on the 12 pound ones. Take a five minute breather, hen give me 50 lines here," I instructed. Ignoring the look she was giving me, I walked over to the corner and pulled out Butcher's Crossing again. Every so often, when she wasn't looking my way, I would sneak a look over my book at her. I had been right; despite her earlier complaints, she was fully throwing herself into the tasks I had set before her. When she was about done with the running, I stood and walked over to her to show her a few cool down stretches.

"You will want to do these after all training sessions. It will help ease the aches and pains later," I informed her as we sat on the floor stretching our leg muscles out.

"So how'd you end up as Lissa's guardian? You weren't even here a few years ago. Did you ever train at this school?" she asked. We switched legs as I contemplated her question. I wasn't used to people being interested in me, beyond lately when people kept asking how I was. I also wondered how much was appropriate to divulge to her. I found myself wanting to talk to her, though, so I answered her second question.

"No. I attended the one in Siberia."

"Whoa. That's gotta be the only place worse than Montana," she joked. I fought back a smile. I found Rose easy to talk to. Even though she was seven years younger than me, it didn't feel that way at the moment.

"After I graduated, I was a guardian to a Zeklos lord. He was killed recently," I said as the day I had found out came back to me. I had been told to take some vacation time, to relax, and had spent the weekend at a small hotel in the next city over. I was preparing to head back to Ivan's when I had received a call from Hans Croft, the head of the guardians.

 _"Belikov, you're being reassigned. Grab whatever belongings you have and catch a flight to St. Vladimir's Academy in Montana," he'd said, all business._

 _"Wh- what?" I'd eloquently answered. My immediate thought was I'd somehow misunderstood and wasn't supposed to be gone all weekend._

 _"They need extra guardians and you don't currently have an assignment," he stated. Clearly he was under the illusion I had any idea what was going on._

 _"Did Ivan dismiss me?" I asked. It seemed unlikely. It was better than the truth, though._

 _"No one's told you?"_

 _"Told me what?"_

 _"Dimitiri, Ivan Zeklos is dead," he'd told me._

"Did this lord die on your watch?" Rose asked, sympathy lacing her words.

"No. He was with his other guardian. I was away," I answered. I had been given one week, to grieve and to attend Ivan's funeral. It had taken me that week to come to terms with the news. I kept expecting to wake up to him rousing me from sleep, jokingly complaining about me sleeping on the job.

"Hey," Rose piped up suddenly," did you help come up with the plan to get us back? Because it was pretty good. Brute force and all that."

I arched an eyebrow at her, bemused. I hadn't expected a compliment on how we'd finally retrieved the runaway princess and her reckless novice guardian. "You're complimenting me on that?"

"Well, it was a hell of a lot better than the last one they tried."

"Last one?" I asked; why did that make me uneasy?

"Yeah. In Chicago. With the psi-hounds?"

"This was the first time we you. In Portland," I said. It was true. Up until then, we'd been chasing dead leads. Vague sightings of girls that looked like Rose and Vasilisa. But had always come up empty.

"Um, I don't think I imagined psi-hounds," Rose said, sitting up. "Maybe no one told you about it?

"Maybe," I said, not convinced. Someone else had been searching for them. Someone not associated with the school or the guardians. It wasn't Strigoi; psi-hounds only answered to Moroi. So why did the news leave me feeling full of unease?

We finished up the cool down session in silence. I told Rose what time I expected to see her in the morning and we went our separate ways, her to the novice dorm and me to the guardian's dorm.

I hopped in the shower, then laid down on my bed, grabbing Butcher's Crossing and my mp3 player. I flipped it on to the middle of an 80s rock ballad and settled back against the headboard to read.


	5. Chapter 4

**Thank you for the continued support, it means a lot to me! I'm so glad this is being so well-received =) Thank you so much!**

Chapter 4

When Rose arrived in the gym the next morning, I couldn't help a small grin.

"What?" she demanded. She wasted no time getting started on her warm-up stretches.

"How sore are you?" I asked her. I decided to put in some training of my own this morning so I sat down next to her and joined her in stretching.

"Do I really even need to answer that? You already know the answer," she said with a grimace as she switched to a different stretch.

"I do know. Don't worry, it'll get better. It'll get worse first, of course," I said. Rose groaned, which only made me smile more.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" I didn't answer. Instead, I pointed towards the weight room and instructed to give me the same reps as yesterday. As she set off, I turned towards the practice dummies against the far wall and brushed up on several staking moves, using a wooden practice stake instead of my official one.

When Rose was done, we went through the cool down stretches before we set off to the novice training class together. I began my rounds, stopping occasionally to assist someone.

The next several days passed much the same way. Our extra practice sessions were going surprisingly smoothly. I could tell Rose's muscles were finally getting on board with the vigorous beating they were being put through every day. Classes passed fairly uneventfully, and every so often a guardian would approach me to either invite me to lunch or compliment my work with Rose.

When Sunday rolled around, I gave Rose the day off. Everyone needed a day of rest. Plus, I wanted to attend the church service. Not because I devoutly believed necessarily. I liked sitting in church because it gave me peace of mind; I usually spent the time praying for forgiveness and half-listening to the sermons. It was something I'd always done. Some people thought it was silly; the kills I had made in my life were necessary, but it made me feel better. I also constantly prayed for the strength to forgive myself of Ivan's death.

When I sat down in the church, in the back most pew, I was surprised to see Rose sitting towards the middle with Vasilisa. Somehow I doubted she was here as an advent religious worshipper either. Smiling, I figured it was more likely an exploitation of a loophole, a way to hang out with her friends without getting in trouble.

I was half-listening to the priest's words, my mind far off in a different place. I declined communion when it came around and as I did, I caught Rose watching me. She quickly turned around when she realized I had noticed.

When service ended, I got up and headed out, back towards my room. I was stopped on the way, though, by Patrick, a fellow guardian who had been transferred from Ireland when I had initially arrived.

"Dimitri, how are ya?" he asked, falling into step beside me.

"Fine, how are you?" I answered.

"Good. Listen, I've been told to tell ya Alberta needs to see ya, ASAP," he informed me.

"Oh? Thank you, I'll go find her." Patrick left me and I changed direction towards Alberta's office.

"Hello, Alberta. You wished to see me?" O greeted when I stepped into her office. She turned towards me with a smile.

"Yes, Dimitri, hello. Listen, I'm gonna cut to the chase here. Kirova is demanding weekly updates on Rose's progress. I don't normally stick my nose into a mentor/student relationship, but these aren't normal circumstances," she said. I nodded as she spoke.

"I understand, and I have no problem giving you a weekly report on her progress," I stated. I filled Alberta in on my observations of the week and what I had planned on doing with Rose during the coming week.

"That's good to hear, Dimitri. I knew she'd come around. If anyone can get her up to par, it's you. Keep doing what you're doing ok?" she said. We chatted for a bit longer before she got called away to the Headmistress's office. I stopped by the cafeteria to grab a sandwich before finally heading up to my room.

The following morning, I changed things up for Rose. Her reaction was much as I'd expected.

"Are you serious, comrade? It's freezing out there!" she exclaimed.

"You won't always be in a sunny, warm location. You must learn to adapt to your environment," I said. "Three miles. I want you to run three miles every day this week, during both our training sessions."

She groaned, but said no more about it. As soon as she finished warm-ups, she headed out to the track. I settled into a corner with my Western and a stopwatch, which I promptly started.

When Rose dragged herself into the gym half an hour later, I checked the stopwatch, calculated time to get to and from the track, and made an educated guess of her time.

"Not too bad. Twenty-four minutes. Room for improvement," I informed her.

"Don't you need to run? Keep in shape or whatever?" she asked as she began her cool down stretches. I gave a chuckle.

"I have my own workout schedule and routine," I said.

"Right. So what's with you and Westerns? They aren't actually interesting, are they?" she remarked. I bookmarked my place and slipped the book into my pocket instead of answering.

After two and a half weeks, I decided to run with Rose. Her times weren't really improving and I was curious as to why. It didn't make sense that she'd excel in everything else I taught her and slack here.

I arrived early to the gym on a Thursday morning and set up a portable CD player in the corner that one of the other guardians let me borrow. After a few warmup stretches, I settled down with my newest book, A Walking Drum, and awaited Rose's arrival.

"Whoa, Dimitri, I realize this is a current hit in Western Europe right now, but do you think maybe we could listen to something that wasn't recorded before I was born?"

I moved my gaze up from the book to her. It was hard not to smile with amusement.

"What does it matter to you? I'm the one who's going to listening to it. You'll be out running," I said, more to tease her back than anything. I couldn't help a small smile at the look that earned me as she began her warmup stretches.

"Hey, what's with all the running anyway?" she asked. "I mean, I realize the importance of stamina and all that, but shouldn't I be moving on to something with a little hitting? They're still killing me in group practice."

I flipped a page in my book nonchalantly. "Maybe you should hit harder." It was much easier to hide my amusement if I didn't look directly at her.

"I'm serious," she said adamantly.

"Hard to tell the difference," I stated. I set the book down and glanced at her again. "My job is to get you ready to defend the princess and fight dark creatures, right?"

"Yup," she answered, standing from a stretch.

"So tell me this: suppose you manage to kidnap her again, and take her off to the mall. While you're there, a Strigoi comes at you. What do you do?"

"Depends on which store we're in." I just looked at her, fighting that increasingly hard to ignore urge to smile at her.

"Fine. I'll stab him with a silver stake," she finally said. While not wrong, I was attempting to prove a point, so I didn't concede her technically right answer.

"Oh?" I said, sitting up and crossing my legs. I raised my eyebrows as I said," Do you have a silver stake? Do you even know how to use one?"

I saw her scowl as she answered me again. "Okay, I'll cut his head off."

"Ignoring the fact that you don't actually have a weapon to do that, how will you compensate for the fact that he may be a foot taller than you?"

She had been stretching her leg muscles with a toe reach, but straightened up, clearly annoyed. She was cute when she was irritated, and I found myself enjoying this a little bit.

"Fine, then I'll set him on fire."

"Again, with what?" These were all good, textbook answers. But I was getting at something they didn't teach you in class.

"Alright, I give up. I'm at the mall and I see a Strigoi. What do I do?"

"You run," I stated simply, face blank. I could tell she wasn't happy with that answer. When she finished warming up, I informed her I'd be joining her this morning. We began at a steady pace, running silently beside each other. I had to slow myself a few times to keep pace with her. At one point, she suddenly found a burst of speed and picked up her pace. I caught up with her easily enough.

About three-quarters through the laps, several novices passed us on their way to their group practice. They waved at Rose; one of them hollered out "Good form Rose!"

Something about that bothered me for some reason.

"You're slowing down," I spoke, harsher than I'd intended as she waved back at them. "Is this why you're times aren't getting any better? You're easily distracted?"

Her face growing pink from embarrassment, she picked up her pace again. When we finished, I checked the stopwatch.

"Better. Twenty-one minutes and thirty-six seconds. Much better," I told her.

"Not bad, huh?" she asked, her face lighting up with pride as we began our cool down stretches in the gym. "Looks like I'd make it as far as the Limited before the Strigoi got me at the mal. Not sure how Lissa would do."

"If she was with you, she'd be fine," I said sincerely. She looked up at me, surprised. I was once again fighting a smile. I was about to say something else when her face suddenly went blank again.

"Rose?" I said. I was starting to be able to tell when she "went to Lissa" as it were. This time was different though, and when she came back around, she tore off out of the gym without a word.

"Rose, what's wrong?" I called, running after her. "I something wrong with Vasilisa?"

She didn't stop to answer, just kept running towards the Moroi dorm. Suddenly, we rounded a corner and ran straight into Vasilisa. Catching sight of her, I became thoroughly alarmed and immediately kicked into guardian mode, scanning the area for threats.

"What's wrong? What is it?" Rose cried, holding Lissa upright. She didn't get an answer because Lissa flung herself against Rose, sobbing. I stayed nearby as I pulled out my cell and made one call to Alberta and one to Headmistress Kirova.

Half an hour later, Rose, Lissa, Kirova, the dorm matron, three campus guardians, and myself were crammed into Lissa's room, standing around Lissa's bed and staring at it with varying levels of shock and disgust. Natalie Dashkov managed to squeeze in as well, but stopped at the sight that had drawn all of us there.

On Lissa's pillow was a fox, very much dead, it's throat slit open and it's life-blood drenching the sheets and pillow it was laying on. Its eyes were glazed over, a look of shock on its face; it had clearly been dead for a while.

"Lissa, did you-"Rose started to ask.

"No. I wanted to… I started to…," she answered. 'Started to what?' I wondered.

"Then forget about it," Rose said sharply. "It's just someone's stupid joke. They'll get it cleaned up."

I admired how she was handling this. She was doing a solid job of helping Lissa get through this.

"It's going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay," Rose said, gripping Lissa's arms and looking straight into her eyes. Finally, Lissa nodded.

"Get this cleaned up," Kirova snapped. "And find out if anyone saw anything."

"Ms. Hathaway, what are you doing here? You know you aren't supposed to be in this dorm," the dorm matron said.

"Guardian Belikov, take her away please," Kirova ordered. I took Rose's arm and started to lead her out.

"No, please! Lissa needs me, please let me stay with her!" she cried out, but no one was listening. I managed to get her outside and headed back towards her own dorm.

"You know something about what happened. Is this what you meant when you said Lissa was in danger?" I finally asked.

"I don't know anything," she said, averting her eyes. "It's just someone's sick joke."

Not buying that, I probed for answers. "Do you have any idea who'd do it? Or why?"

She seemed to consider that; I could see her mind spinning, trying to decide if anyone seemed likely. Finally, she said, "No clue."

"Rose, if you know something, tell me. We're on the same side, we both want to protect her. This is serious," I pleaded. She spun on me at that, eyes blazing with anger.

"Yeah, it _is_ serious, it's all serious! And you have me doing laps every day when I should be learning how to fight and defend her! If you want to help, then teach me something! Teach me how to fight, I already know how to run away!" she cried, and I could hear years of frustration and worry pouring out of her with every word she uttered. I could hear the desperation in her voice and suddenly I understood everything. Okay, she wanted to learn to fight? I would teach her everything I knew.

"Come on. You're late for practice."


	6. Chapter 5

**As I was writing this chapter, I realized I made a mistake in.. I think chapter 2? I went back and corrected it. Dimitri and Ivan met at 17, not 12.**

 **Also, this chapter sees Dimitri finally acknowledging those growing feelings he's been denying ;) Hope you guys like it!**

Chapter 5

Even though it had nothing to do with me, I couldn't help feeling a flush of pride as I watched Rose spar with Shane Reyes, another novice. She fought hard and fast, better than I'd seen out of her yet. She was a beautiful force to be reckoned with and when she slammed Shane on the mat and immobilized him, he and several others applauded her performance.

I smiled as well, making a mental note to bring it up later at our next training session. I had decided to give her the night off after what had happened earlier, both to allow her time to herself, and to come up a new set of lesson plans. Especially after seeing her performance in classes today, I knew she'd be ready to take on whatever I threw at her, so I decided to hit it hard and jump right into things.

When lunch came around, I made my way to Alberta's office to request a silver stake for Rose to practice with during our training sessions. She agreed to it, under the condition that I make absolutely certain that I got it back from her after every session.

I had settled myself in the guardian lounge later that evening and was thoroughly immersed in my thoughts when a janitor poled his head in and looked around.

"Oh, good, you are here," he said.

"Yes. Can I help you with something?" I asked.

"Yea, um, I was told to tell you about what I… Well, see, I was mopping and um…," he said, seemingly nervous.

"It's okay, whatever it is. What did you see?" I asked, hoping to encourage him to spill his thoughts.

A few moments later, I almost regretted it. Apparently, he had seen Rose slip into a disused lounge on the fourth floor with a Moroi boy and had deduced they were up to no good. He'd immediately informed the first guardian he saw who'd then told him to seek me out.

I wasted no time going off to find her. While it wasn't unusual to be upset and disappointed, I was irrationally angry and… jealous? I tried to shale that off; what did have to be jealous of?

When I reached the lounge in question, I immediately slammed open the door, crossed the room, and jerked the boy away from Rose by his shirt.

"What's your name?!" I demanded.

"J-Jesse sir. Jesse Zeklos," he stammered out. A Zeklos? Even worse. That made me angrier.

"Mr. Zeklos, do you have permission to be here?"

"No sir."

"Do you know the rules about male and female interaction around her?"

"Yes sir."

"Then I suggest you get out of here as fast as you can before I turn you over to someone who will punish you accordingly. And if I ever see you like this again," I continued, gesturing towards the couch where Rose sat, " _I_ will be the one to punish you. And it will hurt. A lot. Do you understand?"

I probably shouldn't have threatened him like that, but I was unreasonably angry. I also figured he'd be too scared to tell anyone anyway, judging by the look on his face.

"Yes sir!" he cried.

"Then _go_ ," I said, much quieter and as soon as I released him, he ran out faster than I'd ever seen anyone move. I turned towards Rose, intending to give her a lecture on her behavior and how bad it looked; however, I hadn't really been looking at her up until then and when my eyes focused on her, I saw all of her.

She was shirtless, laying on the couch in a bra and her jeans. I thought she was beautiful, but seeing her sitting there like that made me speechless. She was curvy in all the right ways and I found myself once again imagining her without any clothes at all, as I had before when –

"You see something you like?" she suddenly snapped, drawing me out of my thought.

"Get dressed," I said, suddenly remembering that I was mad and disappointed, and why I was here with a half-clothed Rose in the first place.

"How'd you find me anyway?" she asked, pulling her shirt back on. "You following me to make sure I don't run away?"

"Be quiet," I snapped. I was trying very hard to shake off my anger a little, as well as my reaction to seeing her shirtless. It made it hard to concentrate. I leaned down to look levelly at her, hoping it would help a little.

"A janitor saw you and reported it. Do you have any idea how stupid this was?"

"I know, I know, the whole probation thing, right?" she asked. At least we weren't snapping anymore.

"Not just that. I'm talking about the stupidity of getting in _that_ kind of situation in the first place," I said.

"I get in _that_ kind of situation all the time, comrade. It's not a big deal," she said, clearly growing angry again.

"Stop calling me that. You don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure I do. I had to do a report on Russia and the R.S.S.R. last year," she said. I almost wanted to smile. Almost.

" _U._ S.S.R. And it _is_ a big deal for a Moroi to be with a dhampir girl. They like to brag," I stated, suddenly concerned with the reputation I'd overheard of Rose's. What would she have been doing if I hadn't intervened?

"So?"

"So?!" I exclaimed. She seriously didn't have morals, or apparently self-respect. I had spent a good portion of my childhood fighting the blood-whore stereotype. I wasn't even sure what I was feeling at the moment. Anger at the situation. Disgust at her attitude about it. Disappointment. But why? Because she my student? Or because I had entertained other thoughts of her and this was a glaring reminder that she was young and had a lot of growing up to do?

"Don't you have any respect? Think about Lissa. You make yourself look cheap. You live up to what people already think about dhampir girls and it reflects back on her. And me."

"Oh I see. Is that what this is about? Am I hurting your big bad male pride? Afraid I'll ruin your reputation?" she lashed out. I gritted my teeth.

"My reputation is already made, Rose. I set my standards and lived up to them long ago. What you do with yours remains to be seen," I said. Suddenly I came to a realization. Whatever growing attraction I was feeling needed to stop. This was a sign of our age difference, and as I had spoken, it became glaringly obvious. And with that, I tried to separate myself from those feelings.

"Get back to you room- if you can manage it without throwing yourself at someone else," I said coldly. If I was going to cut myself off from these feelings, I had to be distant and professional, no more.

"Is that your subtle way of calling me a slut?" she asked haughtily. I almost rolled my eyes as those stories came to mind again.

"I hear the stories you guys tell. I've heard stories about you," I said. On the outside, I was uncaring and distant, but inside I felt terrible. I still couldn't help thinking about the girl I wanted Rose to be.

"Why is it wrong to… to have fun? I'm seventeen, you know, I should be able to enjoy it," she said quietly. I could hear tears being fought back and felt a pang of sympathy and regret. I didn't like seeing this side of Rose, and knowing I was at least partially to blame was hard. I wanted to look her in the eyes and say sorry, but that wouldn't help anyone. I decided instead to use this as a learning opportunity for her.

"You're seventeen and in less than a year, someone's life and death will be in your hands," I said. "If you were human or Moroi, you could have fun. You could do things other girls could."

"But you're saying I can't?"

I glance away from her, my thoughts straying to Ivan. "When I was seventeen, I met Ivan Zeklos. We weren't like you and Lissa, but we became friends, and he requested me as his guardian when we graduated. I was the top student in my school. I paid attention to everything in my classes, but in the end, it wasn't enough. That's how it is in this life. One slip, one distraction…" I sighed "… and it's too late…"

Rose's face became very somber, and I knew her thoughts were on Lissa and what she'd do if she had to ever go through what I had. Suddenly her face changed to one of realization.

"Jesse's a Zeklos," she said, her eyes widening.

"I know," I answered, knowing where this was going.

"Does it bother you? Does he remind you of Ivan?" she asked. I could see sympathy in her eyes. I didn't want that.

"It doesn't matter how I feel," I said. "It doesn't matter how any of us feel."

"But it does bother you," she said, her voice softening. "You hurt. Every day. Don't you? You miss him."

Understanding wasn't what I expected. Sympathy was what I was expected. Nobody had ever been able to really understand like that. I certainly hadn't met someone who could read me like that. Yet, there it was. Behind that, I could still see sympathy in her eyes.

"It doesn't matter how I feel," I repeated. " _They_ come first. Protecting them." She paused for a minute.

"Yeah, they do."

We fell silent, each lost in our own thoughts. I felt like Rose had had a sudden epiphany, borne of her understanding and sympathy to my past. And now, I knew, she had made a step forward and was ready, really ready, to learn to fight. To fully commit to what she had to do to protect Lissa.

"You told me you wanted to fight, to _really_ fight. Is that still true?" I asked, breaking the long silence.

"Yes. Absolutely," she answered without missing a beat. I paused, considering.

"Rose… I can teach you, but I have to believe you're dedicated. I can't have you distracted but things like this," I said, gesturing around the lounge. "Can I trust you?"

Up until then, I hadn't realized how badly I needed to hear her say she was. That I could trust her. I felt myself pleading in her mind. I had so much hope for her future and I wanted so badly to know she could be everything I saw in her.

"Yes, I promise," she said. I felt myself relax a bit; I hadn't realized I'd been so tense.

"Alright. I'll teach you, but I need you strong. I know you hate the running, but it really is necessary," I explained. "I can't stop the running and conditioning. If you want to learn more about fighting, we need to ass more trainings. It'll take up more of your time. You won't have much left for homework or anything. You'll be tired. A lot."

She took a moment to think it through, turning my words over in her head. Finally, she said," It doesn't matter. If you tell me to do it, I'll do it."

I studied her a moment. It seems bad, but I had to make sure there was no trace of doubt or uncertainty, that she truly was 100% on board. Not seeing any, I nodded sharply.

"We'll start tomorrow."


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

True to her word, Rose showed up diligently and consistently to practice. She gave it 110% every time we met and I truly felt like she was willing to push through anything I could throw at her. I was immensely proud of the progress she was making, as was Alberta. At the end of the first week of Rose's extra training sessions, I sat in Alberta's office giving my weekly update.

"Wow," was all she said at first, leaning back in her chair, her face showing she was surprised but impressed.

"I truly think Roe can rise quickly to be top of her class. Her attitude has changed drastically," I said. I couldn't help the flush of pride I felt as I spoke. Alberta agreed, a smile on her face.

As I was leaving her office, I ran into Stan. I greeted him cordially and we started walking.

"Hey, so what are you doing for lunch?" he asked.

"I was probably just going to eat something in the gym before I put in a little workout. How about you?" I said.

"How about some company? You always eat alone. Come have lunch with me, I'd like to talk to you," he said. Wary, I nodded and we headed off to the guardians lounge to eat together.

"So," he began, halfway through lunch. "Rose Hathaway seems to have turned over a new leaf."

"Yes," I stated, even though it wasn't a question.

"Well, I have to say, Belikov, I knew you were good. But it takes a lot to get her to listen and behave. I gotta give you credit where it's due, you're doing a remarkable job with her," he said. I took a sip of my drink before answering.

"She's gotten a lot better, yes. I can't say it's all my doing, though," I answered, thinking about Lissa and the fox.

"Nonsense. You're too modest," he said, brushing off my comment. It still felt weird having older, more experienced guardians praising me so highly; my reputation was hard-earned but I still couldn't help thinking about the face that I'd only been out of school for six years.

"Well, thank you, Stand. I appreciate it," I answered. We finished eating and parted ways. I headed to the gym for a quick workout like I'd been doing every Sunday. Sometimes I would train with Rose, but it didn't always give me the workout I needed, so I put in my own extra time.

"What's the first problem you'll run into when facing a Strigoi?" I asked, my arms crossed as we face each other in the gym the following afternoon.

"They're immortal?"

"Think of something more basic."

She took a moment to think about it before answering," They could be bigger than me. And stronger."

I nodded. "That makes it difficult, but not impossible. You can usually use a person's extra height and weight against them."

I spent the next several minutes demonstrating a few techniques, showing her where and how to strike in several different scenarios.

"So if someone is coming at you like this-"I made a lunge at her side "- you can get away by turning and ducking away. The few seconds it takes for them to recover are crucial, you can use that opportunity to incapacitate-"I demonstrated a hit to the base of the neck "- or kill." I made like I was staking through the back to the heart.

"Ok, so…," Rose said, attempting to recreate what I had done.

"No, more like this," I said, standing behind her and taking her arms to show her the motions of the move. She didn't say anything and I immediately became aware of every spot where we touched, the way her arms felt under my hands, and how we could easily turn our heads and –

I cleared my throat and stepped away, back in front of her.

"Go ahead, try to hit me," I said. She lunged forward, springing into action. I promptly blocked her and knocked her to the mat. She tried again, and again, and again. I blocked her each time. Finally, she threw up her hands in exasperation.

"Ok, what am I doing wrong?"

"Nothing."

"If I wasn't doing anything wrong, I'd had rendered you unconscious by now."

"Unlikely. Your moves are all correct, but this is the first time you've really tried. I've done this for years," I explained. I could tell it didn't make her feel any better.

"Whatever you say, Grandpa," she said, rolling her eyes. "Can we try it again?"

"We're out of time. Besides, don't you want to get ready?" I asked, slightly amused at her comment and her enthusiasm. She glanced up at the clock and visibly perked up.

"Hell yeah I do!" she said with a smile. I turned and walked towards the door ahead of her. Suddenly, I heard her cry out and sensed her running towards my back. Smiling, I turned, grabbed her, and threw her down, pinning her to the ground.

She groaned. "I didn't do anything wrong!"

I looked her in the eyes, holding back a smile. "The battle cry sort of gave you away. Try not to yell next time."

"Would it really have made a difference if I'd been quiet?" she asked. I thought it over a second.

"No, probably not." She sighed loudly, but I could tell she wasn't very much disappointed. I also knew she'd keep trying these sneak attacks, which was good. Good practice for both of us.

All of a sudden, the atmosphere changed. Once again, I became aware of how close we were and every spot we touched. Our legs and torsos were pressed together, and her wrists felt very warm in my hands. If I leaned down just a little bit, our lips would meet.

"So um… got any other moves to show me?" she asked. I felt like smiling as I thought of several moves I could show her. Then, just as quickly as I became aware of our situation, the age difference and nature of our working relationship came to mind, crashing whatever other thoughts I'd had. With a great amount of effort, I shook off the feelings and lifted myself off of her. I leaned back on my heels and stood up.

"Come on. We should go," I said as I turned and headed out the gym. I heard her scramble up and follow me out.

I headed to my room for a quick shower, and ten minutes later, I was cleaned up and dressed in my guardian black-and-white uniform and headed towards the commons where Queen Tatiana would be addressing the school.

I took up a position against the wall with all the other school guardians, my hands clasped in front of me and my eyes staring straight ahead as I took in the whole room. I saw Rose enter the room, her hair damp but brushed out, wearing a maroon sweater that accentuated her features and brought to mind the moment from the gym earlier. I saw her scan the room, stop for a few seconds on me, then focus toward the front where the queen would be.

Tatiana eventually entered the room, smiling and nodding at several novices before passing in to the section where the Moroi sat gathered.

"Vasilisa Dragomir," she called, her voice ringing out clearly in the room. I saw Lissa look up at her, face slightly pink although she gave no other outward signs of being called out. Tatiana started out with sympathy over the loss of Lissa's family before giving Lissa what seemed like praise for her name.

"But, as you have demonstrated, names do _not_ make a person. Nor do they have any bearing on how that person turns out," she finished, and with that, she turned away and continued to the front. The dinner got underway shortly thereafter, although one glance at Rose told me she was burning with anger and writhing with impatience. I had to give her credit, though. She'd really grasped a lot of self-control in the last month or so since we'd been training together.

When the post-dinner reception began, I saw Rose and Lissa slip out towards the courtyard. I made my way to Alberta to make sure I could slip away, then I followed them out. I had been instructed to accompany Rose back to her room at the end of the ceremony and dinner. I could only assume she was done for the night.

I made my way into the courtyard and glanced around. Not seeing anyone, I moved further, into the gardens. Finally, I found Rose. I started towards her then noticed several Moroi standing around where Rose was half-guarding Lissa, visibly ready to enter fight mode. I went on defense, ready to break things up if anything happened. When I reached them, I stood beside where Rose and Lissa stood, crossed my arms, and stared down at each of them in turn.

"Everything alright?" I asked, speaking more to Rose.

"Sure thing, Guardian Belikov," she answered, forcing a smile. I could tell she was angry. "We were just swapping family stories. Ever heard Mia's? It's _f_ _ascinating_."

"Come on," said the short blonde Moroi who I assumed must have been Mia. She and her friends wandered off. I turned towards Rose and Lissa.

"I'm supposed to take you back to your dorm. You weren't about to start a fight, were you?"

"Of course not," Rose answered, staring at where the other girls had disappeared to. "I don't start fights where people can see them."

"Rose," groaned Lissa. I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

"Let's go. Goodnight, Princess."

I turned to go, but Rose didn't move.

"You gonna be okay, Lissa?"

"I'm fine."

I turned back around; even without a bond, I could tell she wasn't fine. Apparently, Rose didn't think so either.

"Liss…"

"I told you, I'm fine. You've got to go," Lissa said, nodding in my direction. I was concerned about her, but my immediate task was to get Rose to her dorm. I would check on Lissa later.

"We may need to add an extra training on self-control," I stated, only half joking.

"I have plenty of self-contr – hey!" Rose had just spotted Christian Ozera moving down the path towards where we had just left Lissa.

"You going to see Lissa?" she demanded, off-setting her earlier rage onto him.

"What if I am?" he asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Rose, this isn't the time," I warned, attempting to head this off at the pass. It didn't work; completely ignoring me, she launched into a tirade of how Lissa hated Christian and how pathetic she thought he was. It was harsh and I tried, once again, to steer her off.

"Enough," I said, taking her arm. They spit sarcastic thanks at each other as I walked her away.

"Rose, is that what you call self-control?" I asked, letting her go when I was sure she wouldn't run off and yell at him some more.

"Actually, yea. Ordinarily, you would have walked up on an unconscious Mia with blood all over her little doll face," Rose retorted.

"Rose, you can't do things like that," I chastised. She sighed.

"I know, comrade. That's why I didn't. See? Self-control." This time, I did roll my eyes. We said nothing else as we walked the rest of the way to her dorm.


	8. Chapter 7

**I got two chapters done, so I figured I'd treat you guys to an extra chapter today =) We're about halfway through the book right now, so there will probably be about 5 or 6 more chapters to come. I plan on skipping over a few unimportant scenes coming up. But don't worry, I'll keep the building romance in ;)**

Chapter 7

Several hours later, I was awoken by my phone ringing.

"Belikov," I answered.

"Yes, Guardian Belikov. Rose Hathaway is here, says she has 'private guardian stuff' to convey to you," a woman said, the matron in Rose's dorm.

"I'm on my way," I said, hanging up. I quickly changed and made my way to the dorm where they were. I took one look at Rose's face and deduced that something must be wrong with Lissa.

"Lissa." She nodded and I turned to head out, Rose right behind me. We made our way silently across the quad and into the Moroi dorm.

"We need to see Vasilisa Dragomir," I informed the dorm matron. She seemed surprised, but led us up to Lissa's room with no hesitation.

"She's in the bathroom," Rose said. The matron attempted to follow her into the room, but Rose stopped her.

"She's too upset. Let me talk to her alone first," she pleaded.

"Yes, give them a minute," I said. Reluctantly, the dorm matron stood back beside me as Rose went in to find Lissa.

After a few moments, I knocked gently on the door and called into the bathroom.

"Just a sec!" Rose answered back. I heard the water start running just then. The dorm matron was losing patience.

"We're coming in!" she called and before I could stop her, she crossed the room and opened the bathroom door. Lissa was now wearing Rose's hoodie. Blood was covering both Lissa's face and Rose's hands. I raced to them, instantly alarmed.

"It's not mine," Lissa said quickly. "It's the rabbit…"

I looked her over, ensuring the blood really wasn't coming from her before I asked," What rabbit?"

Shaking, Lissa pointed at the trash can. "I cleaned it up. So Natalie wouldn't see." Rose and I walked over and glanced into the trash can. She immediately pulled away, disgusted. How anyone could identify it as a rabbit was beyond me. It was a large mass of blood, tissue, and blood-soaked paper towels. I looked away and moved toward Lissa, leaning to look at her at eye level. I grabbed several tissues from a box on the counter and handed them to her.

"Tell me what happened," I said.

Shakily, Lissa relayed her story of how she'd come in, found the rabbit on her floor, and immediately tried to clean it up so Natalie wouldn't find it.

She trailed off into tears and heaving sobs. I could tell she was leaving something out, but I didn't press it.

"Do you know who did it?" I asked her gently. Lissa reached into her pocket and pulled out a blood-soaked piece of paper. I smoother it out and attempted to read it.

 _I know what you are. You won't survive being here. I'll make sure of it. Leave now. It's the only way you might live through this._

"I'm getting Ellen," the matron said, moving to the door.

"Tell her we'll be at the clinic," I told her. When she left, I turned back to Lissa. "You should lie down."

She didn't move until Rose linked her arm through Lissa's and coaxed her out the door. I followed them to the campus's medical clinic. I wanted to ask more, as it was clear they both had more to say about this, but I was more concerned with her getting rest at the moment.

When we arrived, the nurses on duty leapt up and offered to wake a doctor, but I shook my head.

"She just needs to rest," I said. Soon after, Kirova and a few others showed up and immediately started questioning Lissa. Before I could say or do anything about it, though, Rose leapt up and pushed them away.

"Leave her alone! Can't you see she doesn't want to talk about it? Let her get some sleep first!" she cried. Kirova looked disapprovingly down her nose at Rose.

"Miss Hathaway, you're out of line as usual," she declared. "I don't even know what you're doing here."

Before Rose could do or say anything else that would potentially get her in trouble, I jumped in.

"Headmistress, may I speak with you in private?" I asked, gesturing to the hallway. She sighed and marched out, me right behind her.

"I believe the best thing for Vasilisa right now is to have Rose here with her. I've seen them together and Rose is a great calming force for her," I explained.

"That's ridiculous. All the princess needs is some rest. Not a hot-tempered novice running off at the mouth!" she exclaimed.

You didn't see them before, Vasilisa was much more upset before you arrived. Rose helps by just being there."

"She is breaking the rules. She's not supposed to be here. She shouldn't have been in Vasilisa's room in the first place," Kirova growled.

"I really believe you should let her stay. Just this once," I calmly said. It would be much worse for everyone if she made Rose leave. Finally, she heaved a great sigh.

"Fine. She can stay. Just this once," she said. We went back into the room with everyone else.

"You may stay with her for a little while," Kirova said stiffly. Rose and Lissa looked relieved. "We'll have janitors do further cleaning and investigating in the bathroom and your room, Miss Dragomir, and then discuss the situation in detail in the morning."

"Don't wake Natalie," whispered Lissa. "I don't want to scare her. I cleaned up everything in the room anyway."

With one last disapproving and doubtful look, Kirova finally left. The rest of us followed, leaving the girls alone.

The next morning, Rose didn't show up for practice, which was fine because I'd been planning to tell her to take the morning off anyway. I used the extra time to put in some of my own training before heading out to watch classes. When afternoon classes rolled around, I started noticing a lot of whispering and laughing going on with the Moroi students, especially when Rose and Lissa were around. Assuming it had something to do with the Queen's remarks yesterday, I tried not to pay it too much mind.

However, when Rose showed up for practice that afternoon, I could tell it was more than that. She looked on the verge of tears, her face blank. I figured if she wanted to talk about it, she would, so I didn't ask any questions. Practice was conducted in near silence, the only talking done by me instructing her. When practice was over, she wordlessly left the gym and headed to her room

An hour later, I got sick of the giggling and whispering, and stopped around the corner from a group of Moroi to eavesdrop. Whatever was upsetting Rose had to be big and I was concerned.

"Yea, I heard she slept with both of them. At the _same time_!" a girl said.

"That's not the worst part, someone else, a male, said. I almost groaned; what else was there?

"She let them, like, _drink_ from her. _While_ they were doing it," the same male voice said.

"Oh my god! I knew she'd turn out to be a blood-whore!" a third voice, also male, said. Deciding I'd heard enough, I rounded the corner and surprised them.

"Shouldn't you be in you dorms? It's past curfew," I said lowly. Their eyes widened and they scurried off. Once out of sight, I leaned against the wall and sighed. Was Rose seriously like that? The thought made me cringe and it upset me.

No, I decided. I didn't believe that about her at all. I knew she had fed Lissa when they were gone, but that was purely out of necessity. That didn't mean she'd give blood during sex. If she'd even had sex. Rumors were rarely true, especially in a high school. I made up my mind then and there that these rumors were a lie. I made my way toward the guardian housing, but ran into Lissa along the way.

"Oh, Dim- um, Guardian Belikov!" she said.

"Princess," I said, nodding politely. "It's late, what are you doing out her?"

She looked nervous. "Um, I was looked for you, actually. I need a favor please..."

Warily, I asked, "What can I do for you, Princess?"

"I need to see Rose."

"I'm not sure I-"

"Please! I really need to speak with her," she pleaded. I thought about it for a second.

"Okay," I sighed. "I can give you five minutes, no more."

"Oh, thank you!" she said, a huge smile spreading over her face.

We headed to the dhampir dorm. I told Lissa to wait outside and made my way to Rose's room, knocking gently on her door when I got there.

When she opened it, I could tell she'd been crying. The rumors being spread came back to me as I looked at her. Glancing away, I almost felt like crying myself; I couldn't stand seeing her upset like this and knowing there really wasn't anything I could do to help.

"Are you okay?" I asked her.

"It doesn't matter if I am, remember? Is Lissa okay? This'll be hard on her."

IT was weird. I'd never met two people so concerned with each other. They'd be an amusing pair to watch once they graduated. I had a feeling they'd argue a lot about who got front line duty. I beckoned for Rose to follow me out to the back stairwell. I opened the door and gestured her outside.

"Five minutes," I warned. Rose stepped outside and I closed the door behind her to give them some privacy. I kept an eye out down the hallway and up the stairs for any sign of someone coming.

I had no doubt anymore at all that Rose would be the best guardian for Lissa that anyone would ever find. She would never let anything happen to Lissa as long as she could help it.

The downside to that was Lissa would do the same for Rose, which could be very dangerous for both of them. I guess that's where I'd come in. A balancing force to temper them from each other. My life would never be boring, I could tell.

About five minutes later, I stuck my head out the door.

"You've got to get back inside, Rose, before someone finds you," I said. Rose looked panicked, but Lissa looked surprisingly calm. I wondered what I'd walking in on.

"I'll take care of everything this time, Rose. _Everything_ ," Lissa said as she walked away.

"What's that mean?" I asked Rose as I walked her back to her room, but Rose just shrugged in answer, her face full of fear for Lissa and whatever she had planned.


End file.
